Locking Buckle for a Belt or a Strap such as a Watch Strap

ABSTRACT

The buckle for a belt or a strap comprises an ardillion ( 800 ) mounted on a movable lever ( 801 ) for being placed in at least two positions, a upper one where the ardillion is not engaged in a hole of said belt or strap, and a lower one where the ardillon is engaged in a hole ( 7 ) of said belt or strap. Said lever is mounted in an adjustment lever ( 90 ) of the buckle that allows the belt to take at least a loose position and a tight position.

REFERENCE TO EARLIER APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to earlier Swiss application No. 01259/14 filed on Aug. 22, 2014 in the name of ROLAND ITEN MECHANICAL LUXURY S.A., the content of this earlier application being incorporated by reference in its entirety in the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention concerns the field of buckles for belts or straps, such as watch straps and other similar products.

More specifically, the present invention concerns a buckle that makes it easy to adjust the length of the belt or strap and also to open or close the buckle.

BACKGROUND ART

Belt buckles are well known in the art and have been made for ages. Some are very simple and only allows definite size of the belt. Other a little more complicated allow a continuous adjustment of the size of the belt.

A belt or watch strap generally comprises two parts: a buckle and a leather belt/strap. The belt itself may also be made out of materials other than leather. In the case of a watch strap, this comprises a leather strap rather than the leather belt, whereby this may also be made out of materials other than leather.

Some luxury products are made of complicated mechanisms that can be fabricated out of precious metals for example.

Examples of known buckles and straps are disclosed in publications WO 2012/117326A, CH 703 808 B1, CH 702 774 B1, CH 706 438 A2, WO 2007/113638 the contents of which are incorporated by reference in the present application in their entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aim of the present invention is to improve the buckles known from the prior art when used with a belt or a watch strap or other similar products.

In particular, an aim of the present invention is to provide a buckle that is simple and convenient to use and that allow a safe mounting on the belt/strap.

Embodiments of the invention are defined in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1F illustrate a first embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate the functioning of a part of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A to 3D illustrate the functioning of another part of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will be explained now by reference to the figures. In the following, the same elements will be referenced with the same or corresponding references. Also, the notion of belt or strap will be used indifferently, it being clear that they are equivalent and the use of the present invention is not limited to a belt or to a watch strap but also to other similar systems.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1A (front view) and it shows a belt strap 6 with at least one hole 7. The buckle comprises an adjustment lever 90 carrying a frame 9 which holds a lever 801 supporting an ardillion 800 (see FIG. 1B) for example via a screw.

The lever 801 is described in more detail in FIG. 1B (top, side views and detail on the right).

The lever 801 is articulated on frame 9 via axis 810 and may take the positions illustrated in FIGS. 1D to 1F, said positions being about 90° apart.

The lever 801 carries the ardillion 800 with is to be inserted in a hole 7 of the belt 6 as seen in FIGS. 1D and 1E. Therefore, the ardillion 800 preferably has the shape illustrated to facilitate its insertion.

The lever 801 also carries a pin 802 for unlocking the lever 801. The locking mechanism is illustrated in detail in FIG. 1C and comprises a cage 803 with a ball which are attached to the frame 9 and the pin 802 on the lever 801. When the lever 801 is essentially aligned with the frame 9, the ball penetrates in one side of a hole of the lever 801 thus locking the relative position of the lever 801 with respect to the frame 9. To unlock the mechanism and allow the lever 801 to rotate on its axis 810, the user pushes the pin 802 in the hole towards the ball and this movement disengages the ball from the hole and allows a relative movement (for example rotation) of the lever 801 with respect to the frame 9. The curved shape of the lever helps the user reach the pin 802 with one finger. Of course, other equivalent means may be envisaged.

The movement of the pin 802 (and to ensure it remains attached to the lever 801) is ensured for example via a screw (see FIG. 1B, right side detail).

Of course the parts forming the locking mechanism could be inverted and the pin placed on the frame 9 and the ball/cage 803 on the lever 801. Other equivalent constructions are possible as well.

Reference 91 identifies a frame axis which allows a relative rotation of frame 9 relatively to adjustment lever 90 and reference 93 an adjustment lever axis allowing a rotation of the lever 90 (see FIGS. 3A-3D described hereunder) on a platform 92 of the buckle.

The introduction of the ardillion 800 in the desired hole 7 of the belt 6 is illustrated in FIGS. 1D to 1F. In FIG. 1D, the lever 801 is in an open position allowing the adjustment of the buckle on the belt 6. Once a proper size has be reached, the lever 801 is rotated downward of about 90° relatively to frame 9 such that the ardillion 800 penetrates in the chose hole 7 (FIG. 1E). This rotation bring the lever 801 in a locked position (FIG. 1F) using the locking mechanism discussed above.

FIG. 2A illustrates a top view of the buckle with a raised lever 801 (i.e. unlocked) as in FIG. 1D.

FIG. 2B shows a side view in partial cut of the situation of FIG. 1D in the buckle.

FIG. 2C illustrate a top view of the buckle with a lever 801 as in FIGS. 1E/1F in locked position, essentially aligned with frame 9, the ardillion 800 being inserted in the chose hole 7 (see FIG. 2D which shows a side view in partial cut of the situation of FIGS. 1E/1F in the buckle).

FIGS. 3A to 3D illustrate the adjustment mechanism of the buckle that allows an adjusted belt to easily be put in a loose position or tight position, the loose position being when the overall size of the belt is greater than the size in the tight position.

This aim is achieved by the movement of the adjustment lever 90 of about 180°. FIG. 3A illustrate the loose position and corresponds to the buckle as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A and 2C discussed above.

The lever 90 may be rotated to the right of an angle of about 180°, see FIGS. 3B and 3C, to reach another position as illustrated in FIG. 3D. This position is a tight position where the overall size of the belt (or strap) is smaller than in the loose position.

Such two different positions are interesting for taking account of the position of the wearer of a belt with this buckle and its comfort, for example sitting or standing or during a meal. For example when sitting (and maybe eating) the loose position will be preferred whereas when standing the tight position will be chosen

If the belt/strap is a watch strap, these two positions may be useful when the wearer wishes to carry the watch underneath his clothes (the tight position will be preferred) or over his clothes (then the loose position may be better). This is particularly useful when the clothes are thick, for example a diving suit in which activity the diver's watch must be attached over the suit.

The examples given in the present specification are only for illustrative purposes and should not be construed in a limiting manner. Other constructions are possible using equivalent means and within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein may also be combined as desired.

As mentioned, the buckle of the present invention may be used for a belt or for a strap such as a watch strap. Other uses are of course possible for other devices and in other contexts.

The parts of the present invention may be made in any suitable materials: metals, alloys, precious metals or alloys, synthetic or plastic materials and any combination thereof etc. 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A buckle for a belt or a strap, the belt or strap having a plurality of holes, comprising: a movable lever; an adjustment lever; and an ardillon mounted on the movable lever, the ardillon configured to be placed in an upper position and a lower position, wherein in the upper position the ardillon is not engaged in any hole of the belt or strap, wherein in the lower position the ardillon is engaged in a hole of the belt or strap, and wherein the lever is mounted to the adjustment lever that is configured to tighten and loosen the belt or strap.
 12. The buckle of claim 11, further comprising: a locking mechanism, wherein in the lower position, the ardillon is held in a locked state by the locking mechanism.
 13. The buckle of claim 11, wherein the ardillon has an incurved shape for facilitating an insertion of the ardillon in the hole of the belt or strap.
 14. The buckle of claim 12, wherein the locking mechanism includes a pin and a ball mounted in a cage.
 15. The buckle of claim 11, wherein the lever is mounted on a frame via a first axis.
 16. The buckle of claim 15, wherein the frame is mounted to the adjustment lever via a second axis.
 17. The buckle of claim 11, wherein elements forming the buckle are made of metal, or alloys or a combination therefrom or other precious materials or synthetic materials, or a combination therefrom.
 18. An object in combination with a buckle as defined in claim
 11. 19. The object of claim 18, wherein the object is a belt or a strap or a watch strap.
 20. A belt or a watch in combination with a buckle as defined in claim
 1. 